1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle lighting apparatus that includes a semiconductor light-emitting device such as a light emitting diode (LED) or an electroluminescence (EL, including organic EL) as a light source, and emits a spot light distribution pattern to be combined with a low-beam light distribution pattern emitted from a headlamp, and a vehicle headlamp apparatus that includes the vehicle lighting apparatus, separately emits and combines the low-beam light distribution pattern and the spot light distribution pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional vehicle lighting apparatus and a conventional vehicle headlamp apparatus including the vehicle lighting apparatus (hereinafter, “vehicle headlamp system”) are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-71409 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-95480. The apparatuses disclosed in the former literature are constituted of a convex-type light emitting element and a fan-type light emitting element, both including an LED as a light source. The convex-type light emitting element outwardly emits a spot-type light distribution. The fan-type light emitting element outwardly emits a wide light distribution. Combining these light distributions provides a low-beam light distribution including a cut line. The apparatuses disclosed in the latter literature also utilize the LED as the light source, and includes four types of lighting units. A first lighting unit outwardly emits a cutoff line forming pattern including a horizontal and an oblique cutoff line. A second lighting unit outwardly emits a generally semicircular hot zone forming pattern having a linear upper edge along the horizontal cutoff line. A third lighting unit outwardly emits a generally semicircular hot zone forming pattern having a linear upper edge along the oblique cutoff line. A fourth lighting unit outwardly emits a diffusion region forming pattern. Combining these four patterns provides a predetermined low-beam light distribution pattern.
In a structure of the apparatuses disclosed in the former literature, however, the convex-type light emitting element is not provided with any other function but to simply outwardly emit only the spot-type light distribution, and the fan-type light emitting element simply outwardly emits only the wide light distribution, without any other function. Accordingly, in the former system the spot-type light distribution or the wide light distribution may surpass the low-beam cut line thus to create a glaring effect, however no remedy for such glaring effect is provided. On the other hand, the system disclosed in the latter literature utilizes a shade to cut off a portion of the light emitted by the LED, thus failing to fully utilize the entire light from the light source.